


side story: little guardians

by stellafleur



Series: kishikan universe [3]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, F/M, Gen, Not Beta Read, Other, Supernatural Creatures, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24862030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellafleur/pseuds/stellafleur
Summary: itaru accompanies izumi to her childhood home, and finds himself under the suspicion of two little, mysterious spirits.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru & Tachibana Izumi, Chigasaki Itaru/Tachibana Izumi
Series: kishikan universe [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671895
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	side story: little guardians

**Author's Note:**

> dear readers, i'm back with more itaizu filler episodes, because that's the best we can do for this AU right now. i call this one 'yuki and muku asserting dominance and driving itaru insane', but that's too long of a title so, we're not gonna go with that. i think this is also purely self-indulgence on my part because i wanted muku and yuki in this AU, but they don't really have a big role, unlike certain characters. still, they'll probably be a super, secret important, ally in the future, i don't know. again, as a disclaimer, i don't own a3!, any of its characters, except for the ideas in my head.

Itaru would like to pretend he was hallucinating, but the two sets of eyes, continuously peering at him as he minded his business in the toilet room of Izumi’s childhood home made it more difficult to concentrate on what he was supposed to do.

He would've happily finished minutes ago, put his phone aside to let his LP refill, relieved himself, washed his hands, and headed for dinner, if not for the two little heads staring at him right now. As it is, he was still fumbling over his phone, even after farming for important items in his game, scrolling through his social media, and pretending he couldn't see them, hoping they would disappear already.

He didn't want to acknowledge them, because acknowledging them meant he would have to acknowledge his delusions, and he refused to do that.

"Yuki-kun… " He heard the pink-haired child mutter. "We should go. I think, I-I think we've seen enough."

The green-haired one aka the one who also likes to make snide comments whenever given the chance, tsked. "He can't see us, Muku."

"I-I don't like watching people in the bathroom though!"

At this point, Itaru might accidentally wet his pants, and he wasn't about to explain why that happened to Izumi. He needed to pee. Now. Sighing inwardly, there was only one route to go in this scenario.

He finally cleared his throat, and looked at them directly. "I need to go."

Staring at them made them glaringly real, which was supposed to be impossible. The two creatures were both crouched on the floor, dressed in traditional yukatas, and appeared similar in ages. The one called Yuki adorned a red, silky cloth with a flowery pattern, and a matching headband. The child would look cuter if not for the displeased and suspicious stare they shot him, as if the child was offended by Itaru's entire existence or something similar. The other one was dressed similarly in a light blue color with cloud patterns on the sleeves, but his eyes looked startled and guilty, almost teary-eyed.

Muku shot up, almost apologetically. "He can see us! Yuki-kun, I'm sorry! It's because I failed to glamour both of us as toilet paper!"

Yuki ignored his partner, and stared back with equal ferocity. "So go."

Itaru began to sweat nervously. "Um."

As if reading his thoughts on his appearance, the one called Yuki narrowed his eyes. "I'm a boy."

Itaru didn't mean that; he actually preferred if no one watched him at all as he relieved himself.

"We'll turn around, so you can do your business." Yuki explained further. 

Once again, Itaru didn't have an answer to that.

An awkward silence started, before Muku pushed him through the door. They didn't exactly push it open, rather melted into wood, and into the other side. 

Itaru could feel his sanity slipping away, trying to think of reasons and explanations of what he just saw, and wondered how to approach the topic of Izumi's house being haunted by two little children.

###### 

Itaru was sleep-deprived and he didn't care. After the unusual encounter in the bathroom, Itaru felt slightly paranoid about running into the two children again and forgot to sleep halfway through the night. Thus, he had no choice but to tolerate Izumi's one and half hours of driving through the roads the next morning, for her college roommate's wedding, their sole reason for staying at her childhood home in first place, being that it was closer to the venue than any other expensive, overnight hotel. 

This wasn't the first he had seen those creatures, to be precise, but yesterday's confrontation was definitely the first they approached him of their own volition, in the privacy of the toilet room. Maybe it was the only time they could corner him, without Izumi hovering nearby. 

Since he arrived at her childhood home, he'd been on the receiving end of multiple, and unexplainable occurrences, mostly his phone dying in the middle of the night, despite being fully charged, a missing toothbrush that he swore he placed among his belongings, his Switch refusing to turn on, and several other annoyances that raised his blood pressure. 

He half wondered if Izumi's childhood home, with its traditional tatami flooring, sliding shoji doors, and ofuran, was haunted, and wondered if he could suggest bringing a priest or priestess from a Temple nearby to pray away their presence. He wanted to approach the topic that particular morning, but they were too busy readying themselves for the formal occasion, and he was too tired to remember it.

By the time they arrived at the venue, however, he was dead on his feet, half remembering events through a hazy mind, and wondering briefly why one of the groomsmen looked familiar, and why the cake resembled a gundam for a second. 

In any case, everything went by in a blur in his mind. Part of him was surprised he was still standing, talking, and faking laughter and small talk with the other guests when all he wanted to do was go back to the car and sleep.

Perhaps, it was exhaustion that made his smile faker than usual, his responses taking a second beat too long, and why he didn't notice the worried glances Izumi kept shooting him.

It was only during a lull at the reception afterwards, that she finally confronted him, her brow creased in worry. "You alright? You haven't touched your phone in a while."

He finally gave her a long look, finally noticed the effort she put into her appearance today, the soft pink color and black lines that widened her eyes, the subtle gloss that made her lips fuller, off-shoulder halter dress that showcased her long throat, with the gemstone necklace around completing the look. Her long, brown hair was tied in a knot, resting at the base of her neck, while the rest fell in carefully and articulately done locks. It was subtle and sweet. Itaru knew Izumi wasn't trying to be beautiful, and yet he still found her ten times more attractive than the other guests who kept pestering him.

And maybe more beautiful than the bride herself, but she'd probably cringe if he said that loud, maybe even hit him.

Suddenly, his fingers twitched, wanting to touch her, even just a little.

Before he could stop himself, Itaru reached out to brush a lock of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her right ear, carefully without ruining her makeup. Izumi froze, blinking unexpectedly at the contact.

"Eh?" She muttered dumbly.

"Sorry, it was bothering me."

They stared at each other, quite awkwardly, before Itaru cleared his throat.

Itaru started. "I wanted to ask you-"

Voices interrupted again, and Itaru silently cursed his luck. 

_Fuck it._ He'll just deal with the problematic children on his own.

###### 

Itaru's phone died while in the middle of a combo. He had an inkling at whose fault it was, and he glared at the two creatures peering at him at the corner of the room.

Dammit.

"You're not entirely human are you?" Yuki crossed his arms.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

He debated answering, questioning what exactly the small child meant, but that would, once again, imply he was acknowledging in some manner, that there are little spirits existing inside Izumi's home, who had a habit of slipping through walls and driving him insane.

Also, what would Izumi think if she suddenly walked in here and saw him talking to empty air?

Itaru supposed that ship has sailed long ago, as she has already caught him talking to his prized anime figurine collection during his private hours but-

"Yuki-kun… " The one called Muku tugged at the sleeves of Yuki's yukata. "I don't think he can hear us."

"Yes, he can." Yuki gestured at him. "He's glaring at us right now. Tch."

Tilting his head, Muku gave him a closer look, and Itaru narrowed his eyes. The small one flinched, scurrying behind Yuki again, as if Yuki could protect him from his foul mood.

"I don't like you." Yuki emphasized.

_Same._

Itaru gave the child another once-over, and wondered how something like this lived in this house during Izumi's absence. Perhaps, it was time to suggest an exorcist after all.

As if sensing his thoughts, Yuki snorted. "Nice try, but you can't kick us out of here."

Time to bite the bullet. "What's your problem?"

No, that didn't sound petty at all.

Stepping forward, Yuki looked down at him over the bridge of his nose. "I know you're not exactly human, and I want to know what your relationship is with Izumi."

That was a loaded question, and Itaru didn't think there were enough words, or time, to be precise, to describe his connection to Izumi, much less define the relationship.

So, Itaru responded back with a question. "Why?"

Itaru watched Yuki's expression race, as if trying to find the perfect answer on how to gauge the situation. "Because you're a dangerous yokai."

_What?_

This time, Muku peeked from behind Yuki, casting him a speculative look, but there was a frown on his face now, at odds with his earlier look. Now, it was as if Muku was also trying to unravel Itaru's mystery as well, and how he came into being.

Yuki's face suddenly fell into an exasperated expression, as if explaining everything suddenly seemed too much, and he didn't want to bother either. "Whatever, shitty elite. If you hurt her, I will end you here, co-worker or not."

At that, Itaru couldn't stop his mind from speculating. A long time ago, from old folktales he'd read and heard, there were guardian-like creatures called zashiki-warashi that resided in some homes. Acting as the sole protectors, they were childlike in appearances despite their powers. Some say seeing them actually meant good luck and blessings upon those who saw them. Blinking, Itaru wondered if Yuki and Muku were the same, if not more.

"Are you-"

The sliding door opened, and Izumi peeked inside, eyes sparkling in excitement. "Itaru! I found it!"

He blinked at her dumbly, quickly noticing the children have vanished into thin air again, before he faced her. "... What?"

"My old robot collection-" Izumi stopped, after realizing he wasn't paying attention, his eyes drifting back to the corner where Yuki and Muku stood moments ago. "What's wrong? Why do you keep looking over there?"

"Do you have dead cousins?" He asked her, very seriously.

"Cousins?"

Itaru shook his head. "Nevermind. Where'd you found them?"

###### 

They planned to leave this morning, with Izumi doing some last minute cleaning, to make sure everything was in place. Itaru was passing by the room he'd been using for the last couple days, when he spotted her kneeling inside.

Itaru did a double-take when he noticed her arranging stacks of shoujo manga, candies, headbands, and yukatas in one far corner of the room, the last place he conversed with the two children.

"What are those?"

Izumi hesitated before answering. "... Stuff."

He watched her carefully place two stuffed animal bears, taking care not to disturb the arrangement she made. Then she glanced over her shoulder and frowned, noticing him still standing there.

Izumi huffed. "What?"

"What are you doing?" He couldn't hide the disbelief in his tone.

"Nothing." She sounded defensive, a pout crossing her features.

Before he could ask more questions, Izumi pushed him outside the room, much more forceful than he expected, and promised to buy him more app cards if he waited out in the hall.

He had a nagging feeling Izumi wouldn't explain, even if he pushed, but it did answer his questions. Izumi knew about their existence, and she didn't want to elaborate.

###### 

The keychain resembled a tessen, like the old weapons he read from history books and video games set in Ancient Japan. He was palming it in his hand again, remembering the unusual way he came about this tiny thing. The fact that it could shrink and grow in size, and maybe let him see beyond the physical realm.

Briefly, Itaru wondered if it was the sole reason why he encountered the two, and why the child, Yuki, seemed so suspicious of him, and the unusual words Yuki said. Briefly wondered if this was also the reason for the strange happenings lately, the dreams, voices, and her.

Itaru was eyeing the keychain so intently, he didn't notice Izumi leaning closer, peering at the palm of his hand. 

"What's that?"

He jumped, and then schooled his expression carefully. "Stuff."

Izumi leaned closer. "Looks neat! Where'd you get it?"

He poked her forehead, pushing her back into her seat. "You're unusually curious today."

She huffed. "You've been staring at it for five minutes, and I've been sitting here waiting for you to start the car. Unless… you want me to drive again today?"

Izumi ended her inquiry with an innocent blink, tilting her head to the side for effect.

_Don't play cute with me._

He shot her a fake smile. "No, thanks."

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! i hope to introduce another familiar face from the summer troupe soon, one very acquainted with izumi's past and an old friend.


End file.
